As I look back on 2013, I am pretty impressed with all we got done in The Mad House this year. It’s important for me to remember how far we’ve come, instead of always looking forward to the next project. Here are all the home projects that 2013 saw.
FINISHED THE DINING ROOM MAKEOVER
Although I painted and stenciled the dining room before we ever moved into The Mad House, it wasn’t until earlier this year that the dining room got its final touches. I also added a few decorative DIYs in the form of my Anthro-Inspired Art Plates and Inventor’s Bell Jar Lamp.
REPLACED THE APPROACH TO OUR DRIVEWAY
This summer my husband, dad, and father-in-law tackled the big job of repairing the end of our driveway. This was one DIY I got to watch from the comfort of my air-conditioned living room, and I didn’t envy them the back-breaking work. We are so thankful to have a driveway that doesn’t rattle our bones when we pull into it now.
SPIFFED UP OUR FRONT PORCH AND LANDSCAPING
My parents helped me to add curb appeal to The Mad House this year. Last fall we repainted the porch railing and ceiling, and this year we ripped out the dead shrub and replaced it with a pretty Wine & Roses weigela bush. I completed the transformation by refinishing our park bench with colored stain adding more red, white, and blue accents.
REHABBED THE FRONT AND BACK YARDS
Even though I am NOT an outdoor person, we got a lot done outside this year. While we were working on the other projects, we took the time to really improve our front and back lawns. I researched what products we would need for our yard and then bought them at Home Depot. It really made a difference that we carefully used the right products followed some simple tips for keeping the lawn looking nice.
BUILT A MASTER BEDROOM HEADBOARD FROM SCRATCH
Back inside the house, my dad and I built this enormous headboard from pine boards and old vertical blinds. While the project didn’t advance me in the Creating with the Stars competition, the headboard, pillows, and upcycled bench made a huge difference in our master bedroom.
DRESSED THE KITCHEN WINDOW WITH A DIY CORNICE
Other than removing the wallpaper and painting the walls, we haven’t done much in The Mad House kitchen. I finally added a touch of form to the room’s function by building a window cornice… made out of styrofoam!
FINISHED OUR DAUGHTER’S BEDROOM
While my daughter’s room was technically finished last year, we had to re-finish it to suit her changing needs. Out went the crib and changing table, and in came her big girl bed and new dresser. The room is filled with plenty of handmade touches from the glittery piggy bank and watercolored curtains to the handpainted drawer pulls and watercolor prints. And don’t forget to notice the uncovered hardwood floors!
COMPLETELY MADE OVER THE SUNROOM
The biggest improvement on The Mad House this year was the refashioning of the sunroom. What had been wasted space was made over top to bottom with a laundry list of DIY projects: X-leg tables made from upcycled materials, a refinished hand-me-down cart, industrial-style curtain rods and DIY’d curtains, hand-painted pillow fabrics, hanging candles, potted succulents and a West-Elm inspired pendant light fixture. But the biggest project of all was the slipcovering of the Craigslist furniture that my mom and I (mostly my mom) tackled. It was a big project, and I am so happy with how it turned out.
All said, 2013 was a pretty productive year around The Mad House. Here’s to even more progress in 2014! If you’d like more Mad in Crafts end of the year countdown goodness, check which 10 projects I chose as my favorites for the year.
Did you like this post? Think it’s worth sharing? Please share with your friends using the social media share buttons at the bottom of the page!
Thanks, Jessica
Leave a Reply